Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that obese adults can include up to 4 servings of dairy foods per day in a reduced-calorie diet, combined with moderate exercise, and still lose a significant amount of weight and body fat.
This new randomized clinical trial compared the weight-loss results of 72 obese adults following three different reduced-calorie diets: a "high-dairy" diet that included 4 servings of dairy foods (milk, yogurt or cheese) each day; a "high-dairy/high fiber/low glycemic index" diet that included 4 servings of dairy each day; and a "moderate-dairy" or standard diet that included 2 servings of dairy foods each day.
"These new findings are important to help us gain further information about the dairy/weight loss connection, which has been reported in several clinical studies," says co-author Michael Zemel, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and director of the Nutrition Institute at the University of Tennessee.
"On the whole, research shows that when comparing groups that have similar calorie reduction, those who consume adequate dairy see better results than those who don't."
